Using Video to Break Down Learning Barriers

The National University of Ireland – Galway (NUI Galway) offers a wide variety of academic disciplines to more than 17,000 students. With each passing semester, the university looks for new ways to incorporate technology in an effort to help students with their careers after graduation.

Four years ago, NUI Galway implemented the Blackboard Learn™ platform campus-wide. Staff members quickly began using Blackboard, increasing the appeal of and demand for technology in the classroom. With this increase in usage came other challenges, the biggest of which was managing video on campus. Staff members wanted to use video in the classroom, but the university didn’t have the proper storage capacity.

As an interim solution, the university created its own ad hoc solution for video, but it was clear the staff needed more support. “Our IT services on campus are limited, so it became clear that a hosted solution was needed,” said Dr. Sharon Flynn, assistant director at the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.

NUI Galway first tried external services such as YouTube, Vimeo and iTunes U, but found that staff members were uncomfortable using the technologies since most services could not keep videos private. The university also tried a solution from HEAnet, Ireland’s national education and research network, but found the solution to be clunky and difficult to use.

During the search for a new solution, NUI Galway discovered Kaltura. Once the university tried Kaltura, they knew it would suit their needs perfectly. Kaltura, a market-leading open source online video platform, allows faculty to easily create, edit and upload videos with a click of a button. Once the videos are uploaded to the cloud-based platform, students can view the videos from any device in any location. “We liked all the features Kaltura provided, especially the fact that it was a hosted environment, and has a central location to store videos,” said Flynn. “The staff have found Kaltura easy to use and like that they can record and upload a video once, but have the ability to use it in multiple places.”

Check out the full case study to learn about how Dr. Susan Folan, coordinator for the M.A./Post Graduate Diploma in Conference Interpreting, takes advantage of the Kaltura solution in the classroom and how Kaltura is helping NUI Galway with their expanding media needs.